Standing just outside the southwest corner of Kinneigh graveyard, this remarkable round tower is architecturally unique among Ireland’s surviving examples. Built on the site of a monastery founded by St. Mo-Cholmóg (St. Colmán), it features an extraordinary hexagonal base that rises 18 feet before transitioning to the more typical cylindrical form, which continues up to a total height of 67 feet 3 inches.

The tower’s distinctive construction uses roughly-dressed slaty stones throughout. What makes this structure particularly unusual is its ground-level accessibility, the lintelled doorway sits on the northeast face of the hexagonal base at first-floor level, measuring 1.45 meters high and tapering from 71 centimeters wide at the base to 61 centimeters at the top.

Four small square-headed windows punctuate the tower at various heights, each measuring between 38 and 50 centimeters high and about 30 centimeters wide, providing light to the interior spaces. The tower currently stands six stories high, though evidence suggests it was originally taller, possibly with an additional floor and perhaps the conical cap that tops some Irish round towers.

The structure underwent significant modification in the 19th century when its top was altered to serve as a belfry for the adjacent Church of Ireland church, reflecting the practical reuse of medieval monuments in later periods. An internal ladder now provides access to the summit, allowing visitors to appreciate both the tower’s medieval craftsmanship and its adapted function.

The hexagonal base sets this tower apart from all other surviving Irish round towers, making it an architectural anomaly that raises intriguing questions about regional building traditions and the specific circumstances of its construction. This unique feature, combined with its excellent state of preservation, makes Kinneigh one of the most significant round towers in Ireland for understanding the diversity of early medieval ecclesiastical architecture.